Alternating mechanism for operating railway-switches or other devices.



M. A. DEBS. ALTEBNATING mommsm r011 OPERATING RAILWAY swrrcrms 03 0mm; DEVICES.

APPLIOATIOK TILED OUT. 16, 1907. 032- Patented Sept 22 m: uomus rtrlns ca.. wasfnwmu, ac.

M.A.Dm:s.' ALTEBNATING MECHANISM FOR OYERATING RAILWAY SWITCHES 03 OTHER DEVICES.

a SHEETS-*SLEET 2 Patented Sept. 22,

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M. A. DEBS. V

ALTER-RATING MECHANISM FOR OPERATING RAILWAY SWITCHES OR OTHER DEVICES.

I APP LIOATIOH IILED 0011s, m1.

899,032. v Patented Sept. 22,1908.

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Hi I TED MARK A. Dans, or ST. LOUIS, nrssouiirf x A i l l i I Be it known that 1, MARK A. DEES; a citizen of the United States of America, residing and having connection with the solenoid the actuation of my mechanism and its incas- ALTERNATING mrcnanrsm FOR OPERATING RArLwaY-swrrcms on QTIIER To (ill whom it may concern:

at the city of St. Louis, in the State of .dissouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Alternating Mechanisms for Operating Railway-Switches or other Devices; and the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to a mechanism more particularly intended for the operation of street railway switches but which may be used for operating other devices and the invention contemplates a mechanism, preferably electrically operated, that is susceptible of alternating motion and operable to actuate the member to which it is attached during both a forward and reverse actuation of the mechanism,

The invention also relates to a novel arrangement of the electrical circuit connections leading to and from an electrically opera-ted railway switch mechanism,

Fi ure I is a top or plan view illustrating a rai way switch and in improvement associated with said switch and the overhead conductor of an electrically operated railway. Fig. II is an enlarged top or plan view of my mechanism with the cover of its' incasing housing removed and the mechanism shown connected to the point of a railway switch. Fig. III is a similar view to Fig. II with the switch point shown in a different position from that seen in Fig. II, and the parts of the mechanism in thepositions assumed when the switch )oint is moved to a different position from t rat in which it is seen in Fig. II. Fig. IV is an enlarged vertical section taken on line IVIV, Fig. III through my mechanism and its housing. Fig. V is a vertica section takcn through the solenoid used for ing housing and with the connections to the core of the solenoid shown in elevation. Fig. VI is a cross section taken on line VL-VI, Fig. III. Figv VII is in part an el vation of a. portion of a street railway car, its trolley and the overhead electrical conductor, and in part a longitudinal section through the bridge interposed in the electrical conductor shown in Fig. V.

DEVICES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Without restricting myself to the use of.

' Patented Sept. 22, 71908.

1907. -Serial1 lo. 397,619. l

' the mechanism to be herein described for the operation of a railway switch I will describe it as used for the operation of such a device in association with which 1 have shown it in the accompanying drawings.

In thcdrawings, A designates a railway switch point that is movable to and from an adjacent railway rail B. V

C is an electrical conductor such as is commonly used in connection with electrically operated railways. This conductor has interposed-in it near a switch of the railway a bridge member D, see Figs. I and VII, through which an electrical current may pass in spanning the space occupied by said member in the conductor. Attached to the bridge member D at its lower side is an insulation strip E, see Fig. VII, to which is secured a. contact strip F. G and H are current conducting wires leadand contact strip F to a post I, see Fig. I, and therefrom to a point to be hereinafter more particularly referred to.'

J is a car and. K a trolley carried by said,

car and having an incasing trolley wheel L that is adapted to travel in contact with the electrical conductor C and adapted to ride against the contact strip F as it travels be neath the bridge member D during the move ment of the car.

1 designates a housing that is referably located adjacent to the railway ral B and 15 provided with a cover 2 adapted to fit snugly to the housing for the purpose of excluding dirt and moisture therefrom.

3 designates a throw rod or switch rod pivally connected at 4 to the switch point A and which extends into the housing 1. This switch rod is provided at the interior of the housing 1 with a head 5 of peculiar construction containing at one of its sides a notch 6 and at the other side a notch 7-. Projecting laterally from the head 5 at one of its sides is a V-shaped or angular arm 8 so positioned 100' that an inclined side of said arm faces forwarm." and another inclined side of said arm faces backwardly.

9 is a guide roller journaled in the housing 1 and against which the side of the switch red head opposite that at which the arm S is located bearsand rides during forward and backward movement of the switch rod and its head. I T

designates a lever across which the 110 mg respectively from the bridge member D I as'illust-rated in the drawings.

containim the notch 6.

throw-rod head extends and rotatably mounted beneath the head of the switch rod and the axis of which is referabl i located i mmediately beneath sair switch rod head This lever extends beyond bothsides of the switch rod head to provide for the attachment thereto of members bv which the switch rodis actu:

ate-d alternately first in one direction and 10 then in the opposite direction during the movement of the lever, and which means will now be described.

11 is a. pawl )ivoted'to the lever 10 at 12 and located at the side of the switch rod head This pawl is provided with a nose 13'and a heel 14. The nose of the ,pawl faces the rear end of the switch rod head and the heel of the pawl faces the forward end of said head.

: 15 is a pawl located at the side of the switch rod head containing the notch 7 and pivoted at 16 to the lever 10. The pawl 15 is provided with a nose 17 that faces the for- 'ward end of, the switch rod head and "a heel 18 which faces the rear end of said head.

19 is a connecting link that is pivotallv at tached to the pawls 11 and 15 eccentric to the points of pivotal attacl'nnent of the pawls to the lever 10 and througlrthe medium of which either of said pawls may be caused to in a manner and for a move theother aw purpose that wi hereinafter appear.

20 designates an operating rod that is connected to the lever 10 and through the medium of which said lever may be moved in one direction and 21 is a retractile spring that serves to move said lever in a direction the opposite to that in which it is moved by the operating rod, or in other words, to restore the lever to its normal position.

22 designates an assistance bar that is swingingly connected to the housing 1 at 23 near the forward end of said housing and to the rear end of which is attached a retractile spring 24.

ried by the switch rod head and its two angular sides are adapted to receive the angular sides of said arnrS.

Assuming the parts of the mechanism to be in the positions shown in Fig. 11 and that it is desired to move the switch point A toward the rail 13, the operating rod 20 is actuated with the result of moving the lever 10 from the position shown in full lines to the position shown in dot-ted lines in said view. During this movement of the lever the pawl 11 has its nose in engagement with the shoulder at the rear end of the notch 6 1n the switch rod'head and said pawl acts to impart rearward movement to the switch rod to produce the desired throw of the switch point. As

the switch bar head moves rearwardly the point of the arm 8 carried thereby'passes the point of the arni 25 carried by the assist:

an'cebar 22 and the inclined face at the front of the arm 8 rules into engagement with the inclined face at the 'rear of the arm 25.

\Yhile the arm 8 is in engagement with the' arm 25'and passing its point the assistance bar 22 thrown latera l v into the position indicated in dotted lines Fig. II, and the retractilc spring 24 is distended, and when the front face of the arm 8 rides into engagement with the rear face of the arm 25 theassistance bar is drawn by the spring .24 in a direction toward the switch bar head, with the result of causing the arm 25 to act upon the a m 8 and assist in the movement of the switch rod until the movement of the switch rod is completed. Strain being then discon tinned upon the operating rod 20 said operating rod and lever 10 are. returned to their normal positions by the retractile spring 21.

During the return of the lever 10 to its normal position, the pawl 11 is moved with said lever and its heel 14 is brought into engagement with the shoulder at the forward end 15 toward the switch rod head and into the position illustrated in full lines, Fig. III, so that it occupies the notch 7 in said head. Upon the next actuation of-the operating rod 20 the nose of the pawl 15 engages the shoulder at the forward end of the notch 7.

to press thereagainst during the movement of the lever 10 and impart movement to the switch rod for the purpose of carrying the switch point A in a direction the opposite of that in which it was first moved. The switch bar is therefore carried in an outward direction and the actuation thereof by the lever 10 and pawl 15 is assisted by the assistance bar 23 and its arm 25 in the same manner as before, due to the point of the switch rod head arm 8 passing the point of the arm 25 and the inclined face at the front of the arm 8 moving into contact with the inclined face at the back of the arm 25 as seen in Fig. HI. Upon the completion of the movement of the switch red the heel of the pawl 15 engages the. shoulder at the inner end of the notch 7 in the head 5 and said pawl is therefore thrown out of the notch 7 and caused to act upon the pawl 11 to throw it into the notch 6 so that it is in readiness for the next. operation of the switch rod in the manner first described.

I desire to draw attention to the fact that the retractile spring 2-! acts to yieldablyhold V erably a solenoid.

said mechanism.

i said bar will only frictionally engage either the forwarder rear angular sides of the V- shaped arm 8 carried by the switch rod head 5. This arrangement provides for the service of the assistance bar to lock the switch rod when the switch-point is in either of its positions but this locking action is created in such manner that the switch rod maybe readily movedin either direction when it is desired to move the switch point independently of the herein described mechanism, this being true due to the fact that the spring 24 will permit the assistance bar 22 to move backwardly when the switch rod and its head 5 are shifted through the medium of the switch point to carry thevarm S forwardly -or rearwardly relative to the arm of the assistance bar. It will be seen therefore that the switch point may be opened-by the flanges of car wheels when they are assing through the switch from the heel of t 1e switch point to the forward end of said point, or by the use of a bar and that the movement of the switch point in such instance will not, in the least, impair the mechanism herein described.

The means for actuating the rod 20 is pref- In Fig. V, 26 is a solenoid coil and 27 is a core operable within said coil. The core 27 is united to the operating rod-2d by a link 28 connected to and insulated frdin said core and a bell cranklever 29 in order;- that when the solenoid is energized said core will be drawn into the coil as seen in Fig. V, for the purpose of imparting movement of the operating rod and the lever 10 of my mechanism for the actuation of the other parts of The coil of the solenoid is energized by an electrical current delivered to the coil through the wire G and carried through the wire H to the contact member F beneath the bridge member D from which the current passes through the trolley K and to the axle of the car J to be grounded in a rail of the railway track. The solenoid is lo cated within and insulated from a housing 30 and said housing is preferably adjacent to the curb line of a street or roadway so that the housing will not be subject to the ingression of dirt and moisture to the degree that it would be so subject to dirt and moisture if the housing were located in the street or ro adway.

31 is a pipe leading from the housing 1 to the housing 30 and within which the operating rod 20 operates.

I claim:

1. An alternating mechanism com rising a throw rod having a head, a lever at jacent to said throw rod across which the head of the throw rod extends, means for actuating said lever, and means carried by said lever on opposite sides of the throw rod head for. engaging the latter whereby'said throw rod may be alternately shifted first in one direction and then in an opposite direction, substantially as set forth. v

2. An alternating mechanism com rising a' throw rod having a head, a lever at 1acent:

the throw rod extends, means for actuating said lever in one direction, means for retractto said throw rod across which the head-0f ing said lever, and means carried by said] lever on opposite sidesof the throw rod head};

for engaging the latter whereby said throw.

rod may be alternately shifted first inone direction and then in an opposite direction, substantially as set forth.

3. An alternating mechanism com )rising a throw rod having a head, a lever acent to said throw rod across which the head of the throw rod extends, means for actuating said lever, and a pair of pawls carried by said lever on op ositesides of the throw rod head and one 0 which is adapted to engage the throw rod head so as to move said throw rod in one direction and the other of which is adapted to move said throw rod reversely relative to the first mentioned movement,-

site direction, and a connection between said *pawls whereby one of the pawls is thrown forth a, 1

5. An'alternating mechanism comprising a throw rod, a lever adjacent to said throw rod, meansfor actuating said lever, a pair of pawls carried by said lever and arranged for engagement with said throw rod, and a connection between said pswls; said pawls being provided with heels for impingement against said throw rod whereby when one of the pawls is moved out of e 'agement with said' throw rod, the other aw moved into engagemcnt with said tiirow rod, substantially rod first in one direction andthen in an oppointo engagement with said throw rod while a Q the other pawl is thrown out of engagement with. s 'd throw rod, substantially as set in said throw rod, and a c nnection between said pawls whereby when one of the pawls is moved out of the notch that receives it the Other pawl is moved into the notch rovided for the reception thereof, substantia ly as set forth.

7. An alternating mechanism com 'rising a throw rod having a. head, a lever ad iacent to said throw rod acros which the head of the throw rod extends, means for actuating said lever, means carried by said lever on opposite sides of the throw rod head for engaging the latter whereby said throw rod may be alternately shifted first in one direction and then in an opposite direction, and means for assisting said lever and the means carried thereby in the actuation of saidthrow rod,

} substantially as set forth.

8. An alternating.mechanism comprising a throw rod, a lever adjacent tosaid throw rod, means for actuating said lever means carried by said lever whereby saidthrow rod may be alternately shifted first inone direction and then in an opposite direction, and means for assisting-said lever and the means carried thereby in the-actu ationof said throw rod; said assistance meanscomprising a. snring controlled member enga ing said t row rod, substantially as set fort v 9. An alternating mechzinlrsm comprising a throw'rod, a lever" adjacentQ-to said throw rod, means for actuating'said lever, means carried by said lever wherehysaid throw rod may be alternately shifted firstin one direction and then in an oppositewlirection, and means for assistingsaid lever and the means carried thereby in the actuation aid throw- 

